News from Indian Country
Page 7
Spilyay Tyrooo
February 16, 2006
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Political climate may curb casino
plans in Wisconsin, legal experts say
MILWAUKEE (AP) - A lob
bying scandal in Washington,
D.C., and efforts to curb new
off-reservation casinos could
harm the chances for casino
proposals in Wisconsin, experts
in American Indian law say.
Federal approval of any off-
reservation casino is unlikely in
the next three years, said Eric
Eberhard, a Seattle lawyer with
an extensive tribal gaming prac
tice. He noted such proposals
have languished under President
Bush.
Making the situation worse
for casinos is a scandal involv
ing lobbyist Jack Abramoff,
who has pleaded guilty to fed
eral charges stemming from
schemes to bribe public officials
and defraud Indian tribes who
were his lobbying clients,
Eberhard said.
Still, backers of three off-
reservation casino proposals in
Wisconsin say they remain com
mitted to working toward get
ting approval from the U.S. Bu
reau of Indian Affairs.
The three off-reservation
casino proposals are: the
Menominee tribe’s $808 million
casino plan for Kenosha; a plan
by the Bad River and St. Croix
Chippewa bands for a $200 mil
lion casino in Beloit; and the Lac
du Flambeau Chippewa tribe’s
$110 million casino plan in
Shullsburg.
Bruce Greene, a Boulder,
Colo.-based Indian law expert,
said the A bram off scandal
heightened concern over tribal
casinos.
“I don’t think the climate is
going to support any expanded
gaming efforts by tribes,” he
said.
U.S. Sen. John McCain, R-
Ariz., has argued Congress
never intended Indian gambling
to grow into Las Vegas-style
operations bringing in almost
$20 billion a year.
McCain, chairman of the
Senate Indian Affairs Commit
tee, is pushing to strengthen the
Indian gaming act by making
Indian gaming more transparent
and increasing the safeguards to
protect patrons.
U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers, R-
Mich., recently introduced a bill
to impose a two-year morato
rium on new tribal casinos.
Greene said McCain’s pro
posal will likely inhibit federal
action on pending casino plans.
A spokesman for the
Menominee tribe, Evan Zeppos,
said changing the rules for pro
posals that already are developed
would be unfair.
Existing rules already require
extensive public review and lo
cal support and have not allowed
off-reservation casinos to pro
Census: Navajos are
2nd largest Indian group
liferate, he said.
Only three off-reservation
casinos nationally have met all
required approvals since 1988.
One of those casinos was the
Forest County Potawatomi’s
Milwaukee casino.
Tribes nationwide have pro
posed 10 off-reservation casi
nos, including the three from
Wisconsin, said George Skibine,
the Bureau of Indian Affairs
official in charge of reviewing
the plans.
Tribes seeking federal recog
nition or restoration of tribal
status have proposed a similar
number of casino plans.
Skibine said he didn’t think
the way his agency looked at off-
reservation casino plans has
changed in the current political
atmosphere.
“We just implement the law
that’s on the books now,” Skibine
said.
Fake art prompts plan to certify authentic work
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.
(AP) - Juanita L. Peters sits on
a sidewalk beneath the historic
portal in Albuquerque’s Old
Town, hoping the few winter
tourists wandering the plaza will
stop and look at her handmade
turquoise earrings and necklaces.
For Peters, selling her small
works of art means more than
keeping alive a tradition handed
down by her mother. There are
times she guards her spot under
the portal for an entire day to
earn enough to pay her bills.
“I have no other income,”
said the Santo Domingo Pueblo
woman.
A proposal being considered
by the New Mexico Legislature
could be a big step toward mak
ing things easier for Peters and
other American Indian artists
who rely on their crafts to make
a living.
Rep. Patricia Lundstrom’s bill
would set aside $125,000 for the
state Licensing and Regulation
Department to study and pro
pose rules to establish a certifi
cation stamp for arts and crafts
made by Indians in New
Mexico. The aim is to boost
sales and ensure that the expand
ing market isn’t tainted by fakes.
One other state, Alaska, spon
sors a similar program that pro
tects the work of native artists
and guarantees buyers that items
bearing a “Silver Hand” seal
were handcrafted by an Alaska
Eskimo, Aleut or other Indian
artist.
The New Mexico legislation
stems from complaints about
■
imitation art being sold in Santa
Fe and Gallup, which is known
as a hub for collectible jewelry
produced by artists from nearby
Zuni Pueblo, the Navajo Nation
and the Hopi reservation in
eastern Arizona.
A deadline is looming,
though: The Legislature adjourns
this week and the money to
study the certification plan is tied
up in a budget bill that has been
criticized by Gov. Bill
Richardson.
ALBUQUERQUE (AP) - Members of the sprawling Na
vajo Nation make up the second largest American Indian
group in the nation, according to a new report by the U.S.
Census Bureau.
The report, based on 2000 Census data for Indians and
Alaska natives, shows that of the people who identified them
selves as American Indians and no other race, 276,775 were
Navajos. Cherokees numbered 302,569.
Apaches, which include members of the Mescalero
Apache and Jicarilla Apache tribes of New Mexico, num
bered 57,199 while 59,621 people identified themselves as
pueblo Indians, according to the report.
Among those identifying themselves as more than one
race, 875,276 said they were part Cherokee and 309,575
said they were part Navajo. Another 104,556 identified them
selves as part Apache and 73,687 were mixed-race pueblo
Indians.
The report also showed that nearly 43 percent of
pueblo members and 43.6 percent of Navajos were more
likely than other Indians to speak a language other than
English at home while speaking English “very well.” That’s
compared with nearly 18 percent for all Indians and Alaska
natives.
Navajos, Apaches and pueblo Indians were less likely than
other Indians to have a college degree, the report said.
While 11.5 percent of all Indian groups reported having
a bachelor’s degree, only 6.9 percent of Navajos did. Nearly
10 percent of pueblo Indians and 8.5 percent of Apaches
had degrees.
The Census figures show that about one-fifth of Indian
households were headed by a woman alone and 7.5 percent
were headed by a single man. Forty-five percent were headed
by married couples.
Dig at park site reveals artifacts
CRANBERRY, Pa. (AP) — An archaeological survey at a planned
township park uncovered American Indian artifacts dating back
3,000 years.
The dig uncovered more than 3,000 items, including arrow
heads, spear parts, tools and pottery, on 115 acres of farmland
that Cranberry Township bought to turn into a park.
Christine Davis, an archaeological consultant, said the artifacts
date between 1,000 B.C. and 95 A.D.
The excavation also turned up remnants of a cranberry bog for
which the Butler County township was named.
■
Cayugas pay taxes to advance trust application
AUBURN, N.Y. (AP) _ Seneca and Cayuga
counties will lose millions of dollars and be pre
vented from enforcing laws if the Cayuga In
dian Nation of New York is allowed to put its
lands into federal trust, officials said Friday.
The counties made their arguments to the U.S.
Bureau of Indian Affairs, submitting reports that
showed in the first year they would lose about
$85,000 combined in property tax revenue.
Depending on the rate of tax growth, those
yearly losses could climb to as much as $15 mil
lion between the two counties.
Friday was the deadline for the counties and
the state to file opposition statements to the
Cayuga’s trust application.
The New York Cayugas have applied to put
¿si
all their land holdings in the two counties into
federal trust, which if approved, would make
them exempt from taxes, local laws and zoning
regulations.
On Thursday, the tribe paid more than
$178,000 in delinquent and current property
taxes, a required step in the application process.
Until then, the Cayugas had refused to pay taxes,
maintaining their land should be tax-free because
it lies in their ancestral homeland in both coun
ties.
“The issue is not the taxes past due, but the
taxes that will never be paid if the land is taken
into trust,” said Robert Shipley, chairman of the
Seneca County Board of Supervisors.
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